The following are excerpts from my very first (!!) paper for grad school. They asked me to describe what my professional identity will be when I'm a counselor. Ya got me, I barely know up from down at the moment, let alone what I'll be when I'm done with this program. It reminds me of a similar paper I wrote for undergrad about what kind of teacher I'd become. I'd never taught a class.

So why speculate?

To get my brain rolling towards the future I suppose. To begin to associate myself with my future profession. This is a good practice for any of us with a new future ahead: Begin to visualize your self in it. Speculate. Relate. Own it. Create your space, and move in. Here is what I see in the distance.

Ah the glory of the mountains! The fresh air! The vistas! The gaping, awe inspiring, rolling majesty of all that is huge and way out there....

And then something starts to itch.

Or you are bored.

Or cold, or smelly, or whatever, and the discomfort is all you can think about. On some level, the challenge of living in the mountains is about overcoming your baseline zone of comfort and trying something new. Without stretching our boundaries, we won't grow. No one, however, said we should be miserable.

After spending considerable time this summer training for and summiting the Grand Teton in Wyoming, I looked through my gear and pulled out a few not so standard items that were life savers. These tiny things don't add much weight and made a huge difference in the quality of my trips.

My ever growing and changing world has expended yet again. As I continue to look into what it means to be bold, I find that it's often wrought with moments of insecurity and uncertainty. But those moments are always followed by even bigger moments of growth, reminding me that the lessons I learned earlier about stepping out of my comfort zone, and remembering my plan, are paying off.